Crocus Police Detective: Natsu Dragneel
by Ahsoka4
Summary: Natsu Dragneel is a freewheeling cop from Magnolia, who is pursuing a murder investigation that leads him all the way into the city of Crocus.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In the streets of Magnolia, around the block near an abandon factory, there was a huge 16-semi truck parked in the alleyway. The back of the truck was practically open. The back of the truck was packed almost to the floor to the ceiling with cases of cigarettes.

Heading into the back of the truck was the truck driver, Racer. In the back of the truck was his partner-in-crime, the guy who was willing to buy the cigarettes from the guy he ordered them from. The cigarette buyer was a criminal who called himself Jackal.

"This all looks great, Jackal," Racer said to his partner. "This whole stash is one big fortune."

"It will be, once I make a deal with this guy," Jackal replied, gesturing to the pink-haired man named Natsu Dragneel, who was sitting down among the pack of cigarettes.

"So, let's make a deal right now," Natsu smiled, getting up from the pack of cigarettes to talk with Jackal and Racer. Little were they all unaware was that Natsu was a police detective, working undercover to bust both of them. "Check this out. I want you guys to see something. I promise you, these are going to be the best cigarettes your supplier needs."

Getting a knife, Natsu cut open one of the boxes the contained the cigarettes. The label read, "Bosco's Whacky Tobacco." They were from a foreign country and when it came to smuggling items outside from foreign countries, it would be considered illegal. Without even informing his boss, Natsu manage to sneak these cigarettes to Magnolia, hoping to capture Jackal and Racer in their criminal act. So far, everything was going according to plan.

Natsu continued on with the deal. "Look! See that. All the way and fresh from Bosco. You can't beat something like that. Do we have a deal or what?"

Thinking about it carefully and yet knowing there were hardly any cigarette dealers, since most of them had been busted, Jackal said, "Normally, I wouldn't accept this kind of deal from morons like you. But seeing as you have the best cigarettes we want, I'm willing to buy them."

Natsu chuckled a bit. "Smart move you made, buddy. You see, you have no other choice since I'm the only choice you got left since Magnolia's police force put most of these smugglers out of business."

Gesturing to Racer, Jackal told him, "Alright, start the truck and let's get the hell out of here before the police show up." As Racer went to get the truck started, Jackal reached into his pocket and took out some money, handing it over to Natsu. "Here's your cut. Now get lost and pretend we never met."

"Hey, my lips are sealed. I appreciate doing business with you," Natsu told him, as he counted the money Jackal gave him and noticed a little problem from the amount of money he was given. "Hold on, stop right there, buddy. The deal for these cigarettes was for five grand. All I got here was 2."

"Look, just take what you got and I'll pay the rest later."

"Pay the rest later? Oh, no way! I've seen how this stuff works. I pay you and you rip me off on what you owe me. If you don't have the sense to pay me for what these cigarettes are worth, then you can forget the deal."

Pulling out his gun on Natsu, Jackal snarled at him with anger. "Don't screw with me, pal. Either you accept what I paid you or you're a dead man. You have no idea who you are dealing with."

"And do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" Natsu questioned. "I'm my boss' right-hand man. Anything happens to me, he'll spill your brains on the pavement. It's up to you whether you pay me the $5,000 dollars or if you want your day to end up all bloody."

Grinding his teeth, Jackal grunted. "Damn it! I really hate your kind, you know that. All you tough negotiators are just a pain in the ass…"

Then a police alarm went off. Caught off guard, Natsu and Jackal found themselves in front of a police car. Natsu could not believe this day could get any worse. He had this chance to bust Jackal and now these guys were about to blow his cover.

"You know what, keep your damn cigarettes," Jackal told Natsu, seeing as the police were now involved. "I'll just get some suppliers somewhere else."

Staying where they were, the two police officers that got of the car were Jet and Droy. Natsu was familiar with them since they work at the same department.

"Natsu!" Jet called out. "What the hell are you doing this time?"

Knowing he couldn't let Jackal know he was a cop, Natsu replied, "What? Do you I know you, officer. I think you might be mistaking me for a different Natsu. And if you want to know what happen here, it's not what it looks like. We're having a little truck trouble, is all. You guys got any jumper cables?"

"Did you hit your head, Natsu?" Droy asked. "Besides, you're the only Natsu on the force that has pink hair. Also, what the hell are you talking about?"

Still playing dumb, Natsu answered, "What I'm talking about? What are you talking about. And are you color blind or something, because I don't work for the police. I'm nothing than a simple truck driver."

"Natsu, do I have to call up Inspector Makarov and tell him you're up to your wild antics, again?" Jet told him.

Looking at Natsu with a discreet look on his face, Jackal already figured out he was a cop. Natsu started to sweat nervously and knew he couldn't keep this charade up any longer. His cover was blown.

What happen next, Jackal just tailed on out and shouted, "Racer! Start the car and let's get the hell out of here!"

Jackal ran for the truck as Racer started the engine and moved the truck with Natsu in the back of it. Getting the truck moving, Droy chased after Jackal trying to keep up to the truck as Jet backed up his car and called up for backup, informing the police officers of what was going down and verifying his location.

Eventually, Droy manage to catch up with Jackal before he could draw out his gun, stunning the criminal with a taser. Meanwhile, Jet manage to cut around the area of the street and went on to pursuit the truck that Natsu was onboard on.

All Natsu could do was hold on as Racer drove like a mad man, turning around corners as boxes of the cigarettes spilled in the truck. After a while, two more cop cars gathered where Jet was, joining in on the chase.

Driving off the road, Racer drove around the corners on the dirt in order to avoid more cops on the street. Going as fast as he could, Racer spotted another cop car that cut him off as it drove in front of him. Refusing to let the cops stop him, Racer forced himself through the cop car in front of him, throwing it off balance.

Racer got back on the road as he drove the truck back and forth to the side. He knew Natsu was still onboard the truck and try to force him out. Throwing Natsu off was going to prove harder than he thought as Natsu held onto the chains in the truck.

So far, the chased went on for about 12 minutes. Racer kept turning corners, ramming cop cars out of the way and trying to throw off Natsu, who still refused to let go. The crazier Racer drove, the boxes of cigarettes began to spill out onto the road.

A couple of cop cars manage to get thrown off during the chase. Two cop cars crashed into a pile of crash cans, forcing them to stop as the other cop cars continued the pursuit. Racer proved how much of a crazy driver he was when he nearly ran into pedestrians, who got out of the way in time when, as the truck rammed over a taxi cab.

Knowing he was dangerous on the road and needed to be stopped immediately, Jet called for more backup. With more cops joining in, Racer try to ram them on the side of the truck. Racer just merely laughed as he try to ram the cop cars, trying to tip them over.

Having had enough of this crazy truck driver, the police try to coordinate a plan to stop Racer. Racer turned into a corner in a small neighborhood, ramming through people's parked cars and leaving them in the way of the police officers, who's path was blocked.

Thinking he had finally ditched the cops, Racer spotted a whole group of cops gathered together straight ahead. They pointed their guns at him and Jet spoke on the mechaphone, demanded he cease his reckless driving.

Unexpectedly, Racer drove off the road and onto the sidewalk to get to the other side of the road to get away from the cops. That ended up being his big mistake when his truck crashed into a pile of banged up cars.

With his trucked all crashed, Racer got out and made a run for it as Jet and a couple of officers chased him on foot.

Natsu emerged out of the boxes that were piled on him. Before he could go anywhere else, he found himself cornered by the guys from the police force, which included Police Lieutenant Jura Neekis.

"Freeze! Stay right you are, idiot!"

Looking closely at Natsu and recognizing his pink hair, Jura gestured his men to lower their guns as he shook his head. "I should have known it was you, Natsu. As always, you have to stir up trouble."

Of course, Natsu was going to be more than just in trouble. Once Chief Makarov Dreyar hears about this, Natsu knew he was going to blow a fuse.

* * *

Returning back to the police station, the only thing Natsu was planning to do was pack his stuff and head home. Hearing it from Chief Makarov was the last thing he wanted to hear since it was always the same lecture.

Natsu had made quite a reputation for himself in the police department. While some were irritated of the fact he causes trouble for Makarov, who's got to hear it from the mayor, there were some who give him credit for doing his job and wished they could pull the same thing he can.

Heading up the stairs to head for the locker room, Natsu bumped into officer Warren Rocko, who said, "Hey, Natsu, way to bust the Jackal. Wish I could have been there with you."

Natsu gave Warren the thumbs up when he bumped into office Cana Alberona, who carried the rank of Captain in the Magnolia Police Department.

"Look, I don't have time to hear this, Cana," Natsu told her.

"Well, you're going to hear it either way," Cana said, following Natsu. "The Chief is really pissed, you know. You know he said this is probably the worse operation you ever performed. But if you want my honesty, I think you pulled that job real good, even if you did cause a bit of damage."

"Yeah, well, I would have busted them if those idiots Jet and Droy didn't but in," said Natsu.

"If you think that's worse, Jet and Droy are spreading rumors that you were haggling money with the Jackal," Cana informed.

"I was not!" Natsu bellowed. "And if I see Jet and Droy, I'm going to kick their asses. Besides, I had to take that money. If I didn't, the Jackal would have known I was a cop."

"If it makes you feel any better, Natsu, I stuck some real hot chili peppers in Jet and Droy's box of doughnuts," said police officer Meredy, who was filing reports on her desk.

Natsu smiled and tapped Meredy on her right shoulder. "Appreciate the thought, Meredy."

Cana followed Natsu all the way the locker room (now caring if men noticed her) and saw all the guys clapping and cheering for Natsu. Some threw insults of how much of an idiot he was, while others thought it was cool of what he just did.

"Natsu, why didn't you tell me you were going to bust the Jackal?" spoke young deputy Romeo Conbolt. "I would have been a big help if you took me along."

Giving a small punch to Romeo's right shoulder, Natsu grinned. "Maybe next time, buddy."

Opening his locker and packing his stuff, Cana said, "Already in 15 minutes and you're already the biggest star and ass."

"Yeah, well, when you see the Chief, tell him 'I wish I could have stuck around, but I had a small reunion to get to…"

"NATSU DRAGNEEL! YOU'VE DONE IT THIS TIME!"

"Ah, crap," Natsu mumbled. "Just when I thought I was home free."

"Good luck on this, Natsu," Cana told him. "Hey, if you're lucky, maybe the old man won't fire you." Cana then walked out of the men's locker room.

Seeing the small old man, Chief Makarov Dreyar, entering the men's locker room furious, Natsu spoke first. "Hey, gramps. Look, I know what you're going to say…"

"Do you mind to tell me why you come off going undercover without authorization?!" Makarov shouted, cutting off Natsu's sentence. "What the hell is this all about?! The next time you want to play this cowboy game crap, I suggest you do it in somebody else's department."

"Would it help if I told you my side of the story, gramps?" Natsu asked, jokingly.

"And just what exactly is your side of the story?!" Makarov questioned. "In fact, don't bother explaining it to me, because I know it's going to be another one of your lies. You listen well, boy. I'm growing tired of all this crap you keep pulling and won't stand for it anymore and neither will the Mayor. Do you realize how much money you caused from all the damage?"

"Oh, come on, gramps. It's not like the Mayor doesn't have enough money to repair the damage," Natsu said to his boss. "And I get it that I messed up and that I disregarded proper procedure."

"You damn right you did, wise ass!" Makarov shouted at him. "I'm in a lot of trouble for this, thanks to you! And how the hell did you get that truck full of cigarettes all the way from Bosco?"

Natsu replied, "I know a buddy of mine in Bosco who works in the cigarette company. He agreed to smuggle these cigarettes that I was planning to use to bust the Jackal."

Makarov sighed and calmed down. "Listen, Natsu. No more of these setups. Do you understand. I admit that you're a good cop. And you have great potential. But your recklessness is driving this department through the mud with your recklessness and wild operations. Not to mention I have to take the heat and clean up your mess. I'm warning now, boy, one more time and I will have no choice but to fire you. Is that understood?"

"Come on, gramps, can't you just…"

"I said, do you understand me?!" Makarov bellowed.

Natsu sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I get you gramps. I promise it won't happen again."

"See to it that it doesn't," Makarov warned him. "You're dismissed. Head on home for the night."

Taking all his stuff from his locker, Natsu was relieved he just got a break brake. But this really sucked. From now on, he figured he better wise up and follow procedure from now on if he wants to keep his job. Natsu couldn't imagine his life not being the cop since it was the only job he felt he could make a difference.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I would like to confirm that I do not own "Beverly Hills Cop" as it is the property of film director of Martin Brest and Paramount Pictures. Also, I do not own the "Fairy Tail" series since that happens to be the property of Hiro Mashima.**

 **Notice: Just to verify, this is based on the 1984 popular cop, but with a few changes to it. I'm not going to say who is who, I'll let you all guess that. After doing the "Rush Hour" parody, I decided to do another one because I just love seeing "Fairy Tail" as cops in the new manga that is being published. Anyway, hope you enjoy this version of the story and looking forward to your reviews.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Natsu drove on back home in his neighborhood. The neighborhood wasn't much and there were very few people to go around. It was an area where nothing much ever happened. In fact, Natsu had fond memories of this neighborhood since he grew up around here.

The car he drove wasn't exactly what you would call high class. Pretty much of the car was an old school car that looked like it never had a paint job. It was the only car Natsu could afford in his salary, considering he took pay cuts for every time he screwed up on his job.

Getting out of the car where he parked it, Natsu felt it moving. He quickly pushed the lever since it left the car on reverse. Hearing his stomach growling, Natsu was looking forward to getting inside to eat something.

"Ah, man, I sure could go for some of that leftover pork from last night," Natsu said to himself.

Heading into the apartment complex he lived in, Natsu headed up the stairs (since the elevator was broken). He walked up to his apartment number when he noticed something that was quite odd.

From the front door of his apartment, Natsu saw the door was open by an inch. He found that odd since he knew he locked the door this morning. Suspecting somebody broke into his apartment, Natsu slowly walked up the stairs, making sure not to make a sound or he'd risk alerting the thief.

Drawing out his gun, Natsu slowly opened the door and quickly moved in, pointing his gun, assuming the thief was in the living room. Nobody was there. Natsu took one step at a time, becoming aware of his surrounding of where the thief might reveal himself.

Hearing a small noise in the kitchen, Natsu made his first move and shouted, "Hey!"

In the kitchen, he saw the guy who broke into his apartment. The guy didn't look like he stole anything, only he was eating some of Natsu's leftover pork, which he made into a sandwich. This guy was tall and muscular, wore a black shirt, white pants, fingerless gloves, had long wild-hair and had piercings on his face. Natsu recognized who he was. Both Natsu and the guy laughed.

"Hey, Gajeel," Natsu said, coming up to bump fist his friend's hand. "What the hell are you doing here? And as I should have expected, you still keep breaking into people's houses."

"Yeah, well, it's a habit of mine that never died," Gajeel replied.

Natsu and Gajeel were both buddies back in the days when they were real young. They have been friends since they were 13-years-old. Back in their glory days, they use to be a couple of trouble-makes, causing mischief here and there. Even before Natsu became a cop, he used to get caught in Gajeel's schemes that nearly got them in trouble with the law.

"So, when did you get out?" Natsu asked. "I thought you were doing time for that highway speed chase you were in. What were you speeding for anyway?"

"They were chasing me on the count for not paying for the gas at the gas station," Gajeel told him. "As to when I got out, that was about six months ago. They let me go for good behavior."

"Six months ago?" Natsu questioned. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Ah, well, prison can be a hustle and when you get out, you want to spend some time at a nice place. For the past six months, I was up over in Crocus. Not only that, I got a job up there and scored big. Check it out." Gajeel got his bag and showed Natsu a heavy load of money he had in his possession. "Been saving up a lot that job was offering me. I made up to like $5,000 dollars."

Even though Gajeel was his friend, that didn't mean Natsu was skeptical about him, considering his shady past. "You didn't steal that money? Did you, Gajeel? Because I know how you are."

"No, I'm serious," Gajeel promised. "I mean, they didn't offer me $5,000 dollars in a snap of a finger. I'm been saving up little by little. Plus, I prefer to keep my money with me. Not going to trust a bank to keep it safe."

Seeing Gajeel was serious, Natsu replied, "Hey, whatever works for you, pal. Sorry I even asked if it was stolen. It's this cop life that keeps having me question people. Just forget about it. I'm just glad to see you again."

"What do you say for old times sake, we go out and have a drink," Gajeel suggested.

Natsu grinned. "Sounds good to me, buddy. I'm buying."

* * *

The two of them headed onto the other side of town where they bought a few drinks and played a game of Pool. As they played Pool, they took this time to catch up with one another. Natsu told Gajeel about all his crazy schemes he pulled in his job on the force.

Gajeel laughed after hearing all of Natsu's stories. "Man, you are a riot! And your chief is always on your ass 24-7?"

"Oh, you know it," said Natsu. "But, enough about me. Tell me about this job you took in Crocus."

Shooting his ball into the basket, Gajeel replied, "Well, the job I got hired for was to work as a security guard."

Natsu burst out laughing when Gajeel mentioned this. "Security guard?! That doesn't sound like you. And what kind of idiot would hire you as a security guard?"

"That idiot would happen to be our childhood friend, Lucy Heartfilia," Gajeel told him.

"Lucy Heartfilia?!" Natsu gasped, surprised to hear that name. Other than he and Gajeel, Lucy Heartfilia was another childhood friend who grew up with them in the same neighborhood. It had been a long time since Natsu heard from Lucy. When she graduated from high school, she just left town, never saying where she went. "It's been like 10 years since I last saw Lucy. How is she anyway?"

"She's doing fine. In fact, you can say Lucy is now the manager of this art gallery to this big shot named Precht Gaebolg. Lucy's been going places because of this job. Last year, she even got to see the royal family in person at the castle in Crocus."

"Art gallery, huh? Yep. That definitely sounds like Lucy. She was always crazy about that kind of stuff. Pretty amazing she got to see the royal family."

As Natsu shot his next ball, Gajeel put his hand on Natsu's right shoulder and grinned. "Hey, something excellent just came to mind. You know how crazy we were when we were young, right? To relieve those good memories, what do you say about stealing a car?"

Natsu laughed even more and shook his head. "Come on. You can't be serious, Gajeel. I'm a cop now. I can't just go and steal a car. As fun as it sounds, I'm going to have to take a pass on that."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Gajeel figured. "Still, I'll never forget that one time you stole that nice looking hot rod. You really took that thing for a freaking ride on the expressway. The way you drove, you were a maniac."

"Oh, yeah," Natsu chuckled, relieving that memory. "When I told the guys at school about that, they called 'Hot Streak Natsu'. Also, there's one thing I wanted to ask you. That day we got caught, you ended up going to jail instead of me. How come you didn't tell them we were together? Why did you take the fall?"

Gajeel replied and gave his answer. "I figured you deserved better. Look at me. I was always that punk people knew was up to no good. If anybody was going to jail, I figured it'd be me. You not going to jail was better for you. And look at you now. You went from a kid causing trouble to someone who's going to uphold the law."

Natsu smiled at Gajeel, feeling touched that his friend took the fall for him. "Never knew you would go that far for me. I appreciate it, buddy."

Gajeel didn't react as he took a drink from his beer and replied, "Hey, don't even mention it. Before we end this day, you up to see which one of us can hold his liquor?"

"Challenge accepted," Natsu said, cracking his knuckles, paying the female bartender as they began their drinking game.

The drinking game lasted for about 18 minutes and Natsu and Gajeel had all come down to 25 drinks. On Gajeel's 26th drink, he was unable to hold his liquor any longer as he kept laughing and fell to the ground. In thus, Natsu was the winner.

* * *

Seeing as how Gajeel was already drunk, Natsu figured the least he could do for his old buddy was let him crash at his place for the night. Natsu got Gajeel in the car and drove back to the apartment. Getting him upstairs was the hard part since he was so damn heavy.

It took getting Gajeel upstairs about 10 minutes. When they finally made it, Natsu try to hold Gajeel still, since he couldn't have him passing out. Getting him upstairs was enough and the last thing he wanted was to drag him by the grasp.

Laughing his ass off, Natsu snapped his fingers in front of Gajeel and said, "Hey, Gajeel, you think you can balance yourself?"

"I'm the master of balance," Gajeel joked. "You can also say the center of myself is the balance."

"Or the master of getting yourself drunk," Natsu quipped. "Anyway, stay right there. I'm going to open the door…"

Then, from out of nowhere, two men appeared and attacked Natsu. One was a deranged looking man with long and wild blonde hair while the other was a stoic dark-skinned man. Gajeel was familiar with these guys named Azuma and Zancrow. Natsu didn't have a chance to get a look on these two's faces. It happened so fast that he was punched in the face and the back of his head, knocking him out in an instant.

"Natsu!" Gajeel shouted. Snapping out of his drunken state, Gajeel try to fight back against Azuma and Zancrow, trying to take them both on. Even though he snapped out of his drunken state, Gajeel still didn't have the strength to fight back. Though he barely laid a punch on them, he was rammed against the wall by Azuma.

"Azuma. Zancrow. What the hell are you two doing here?" Gajeel asked, breathing heavily.

"You know why we're here, Redfox," Zancrow snarled. "We busted into the apartment earlier and know about the $5,000 dollars you stole from the boss."

Gajeel scoffed at them. "All this to get back the $5,000 dollars. It's not like your boss doesn't have an extra money on him. A little $5,000 dollars never hurt anyone."

"That's the whole point, Redfox," Azuma told him. "No one ever steals from Hades. Whether it's money, drugs or his possessions, you never take anything from him. When you double-cross the boss, there are serious consequences that follow."

"Consequences, huh," replied Gajeel. "Well, you can kiss my ass!" What happen next was Gajeel pushed and rammed them against the wall as he try to make a run for it.

Pulling out their guns, Azuma and Zancrow shot at Gajeel. Barely making it to the stairs, Gajeel was shot in the back, to his neck and the back of his head. Losing consciousness, his body went limp and fell down the stairs. Azuma and Zancrow tapped his body and saw there was no response and knew he was dead for sure. They quickly bailed before anyone decided to open the doors when they heard gunshots.

* * *

An hour later, cops surrounded the apartment complex when a neighbor called to report gunshots that were fired. Chief Makarov headed there with his force when they heard Natsu had been attacked by the murderers who killed Gajeel.

Natsu manage to regain consciousness as soon as the police arrived. Paramedics checked on him to make sure he was okay. He suffered nothing serious, except maybe a slight fracture on the back of his head.

When he was told the news that his best friend was murdered, Natsu couldn't believe it. Ever since they became friends, Gajeel was like an older brother to Natsu. He never had siblings since he grew up as an only child. Natsu couldn't believe how fast it happened. One moment Gajeel comes to visit and he ends up murdered.

Trying to figure out why Gajeel was murdered, Natsu already figured that the $5,000 dollars his friend possessed was stolen. He never bothered to question Gajeel on the count of his friend and all. But, whoever he stole the money from must have been someone big and wondered why Gajeel got himself caught up in.

When Makarov saw Natsu was still around, he said, "Natsu, I thought I told you to go to the hospital and get that bump on your head checked out just to be safe. I don't want you falling into a concussion."

"I'll be fine," Natsu assured the chief. "Not like I sustained life threatening injuries."

"That wasn't a request and don't start getting smart with me," Makarov warned him.

As Natsu sat next to his car recovering from his head injury, he received a tip from Cana that Makarov planned to assign officer Eve Tearm on the case. Natsu did not like the idea of that since he saw that guy as nothing more than a pretty boy who didn't have the brains for this kind of case.

Approaching the chief, who was talking to other officers, Natsu said, "Hey, boss. I want to talk to you about something." The two of them walked away from the police officers to talk alone. "Is it true you assigned that ladies man detective guy to investigate Gajeel's murder?"

"Yes, I have," Makarov replied. "And I want no arguments about it. Eve's got the best resources in his department and is a reliable officer who can handle himself."

Natsu raised his eyebrow. "Come on, gramps. The guy has never solved a case in his entire life. He may have the resources, but he's never been out there in a real investigation."

"At least he knows how to follow protocol, unlike you," Makarov remarked. "Eve will take the case on your friend. End of story. Now do as you're told and go to the hospital." Makarov turned to walk away.

Natsu sighed with frustration. "If that's how it's going to be, I guess I'll just do my own investigation."

Stopping as he turned to Natsu with a furious look, Makarov shouted, "Do not do anything to jeopardize this, Natsu! You're already in hot water as it is!"

"Hey, this my best friend we're talking about!" Natsu argued. "I have every right to be part of this case!"

"The fact you were close to him blinds your better judgment!" Makarov told him. "I suggest you wise up and follow orders. Stay out of this case! If you insist, I'll fire you on the spot right now!"

Remembering where Gajeel said he came from, it occurred to Natsu that perhaps the guys who killed his friend must have been from Crocus. Even better, he never told the chief or anybody else about that information. Natsu realized now how he could still become part of the case without the chief knowing.

"Alright, you win, boss," said Natsu. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to take vacation."

Becoming a bit suspicious that Natsu gave in just like that, Makarov looked at him with skepticism. "Don't pull any strings with me, Natsu. Either you're serious or pulling my leg."

"Why would I pull your leg when you just told me I'm in hot water with you?" Natsu questioned. "Seriously, I think going on vacation might be the best thing for me to relieve stress."

Makarov raised his eyebrow and decided to trust Natsu, for once. "Alright, fine. You can have your vacation, Natsu. But first, check in at the hospital. Before you do, let's be clear we're on the same page. Don't test my patience. If I so much as find out you're butting into this case, you will be on a permanent vacation."

Done talking to Natsu, Makarov made his leave. Natsu knew for sure there was a chance he could get fired for this. But he wasn't going to let his friend's murderers go free. Natsu vowed he wouldn't rest until he made sure he caught Gajeel's killers and bring them to justice.


End file.
